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Edition
Twelve (4/21/09)
  
FTC’s Hard-line
Enforcement May Shock Industry
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/20/09
The government took another step last week toward closing
a legal loophole in federal privacy and security rules
for emerging Health 2.0 information technology
applications by issuing proposed rules aimed at covering
an estimated 900 companies and organizations offering
personal health records and electronic systems connected
to them.
Senate Committee to Vote on HHS Secretary
AP/Yahoo News, 4/20/09
A Senate committee has scheduled a vote for Tuesday on
President Obama's nominee for health and human services
secretary, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The Senate
Finance Committee will vote on sending Sebelius'
nomination to the full Senate. Lawmakers want Sebelius in
place quickly as they get to work on legislation
overhauling the nation's costly health care system.
Long-Term Care Could Emerge as an Important
Player in HIT
HealthLeaders, 4/20/09
Few nursing homes are using electronic health records
that allow them to share information with other health
care providers—a standard known in the technology
world as "interoperability." But more nursing
homes could begin using more interoperable EHRs soon,
thanks to incentives provided by ARRA and a push to
certify long-term care health I.T. products.
Obama Picks Technology and Performance Officers
The Washington Post, 4/19/09
President Obama has named Virginia Technology Secretary
Aneesh P. Chopra to be the nation's first chief
technology officer. The president announced the choice in
his weekly radio and Internet address, adding Chopra to a
small group of advisers whose aim it is to enhance and
modernize the delivery of government services. The
president also named Jeffrey Zients, a chief executive
and former management consultant, to be his chief
performance officer.
HHS Issues
Guidance on Safeguarding Data
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/17/09
HHS issued guidance on protecting personally identifiable
health care information by encrypting or destroying it so
that it is rendered “unusable, unreadable, or
indecipherable to unauthorized individuals.” The 20-page document was the work of a joint effort by HHS,
its Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology and Office for Civil Rights, and
the CMS. The guidance was required by the stimulus
package and is linked to a pair of breach-notification
regulations required under the legislation.
Blog: Papering Over the Reality of Electronic
Health Records
OhMyGov!, 4/17/09
Thanks to the stimulus package, electronic health records
are a hot topic. But as in the early days of the
eGovernment push, the reports of paper's death are
greatly exaggerated. A bevy of laws and regulations still
dictate the use and retention of paper records across the
health care industry. Federal and state law prevents
physician's offices (and hospitals alike) from simply
dumping paper documentation.
How Health Plans Could Benefit From Health I.T.
HealthLeaders, 4/17/09
Hospitals and physicians will spend many hours over the
next two years researching and implementing electronic
health records to take advantage of the $36 billion
slated for health I.T. in the stimulus law. While
providers perform most of the heavy lifting, another
health care segment might actually benefit more from
better health information exchanges.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute's
released a report "Rock and a Hard Place: An
Analysis of the $36 Billion Impact From Health I.T.
Stimulus Funding" that focused mostly on how the
stimulus law's health I.T. money would affect providers
and health plans.
FTC Unveils EHR Security Rule
HealthLeaders, 4/17/09
The FTC's proposed interim rule governing security for
electronic health records expands responsibility for
maintaining patient confidentiality to include third-party
vendors, enhances patient notifications for breaches, and
sends a clear signal that the federal government will
crack down on violators. In addition to providing about $36.3
billion to offset hospitals' and physicians' costs for
installing interoperable EHR, the stimulus package also
includes mandates to strengthen privacy and security
protections.
Industry May Have to Wait for Unsecured PHI
Definition
HealthLeaders, 4/17/09
If you've got a spare minute, call up the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and search for
"unsecured protected health information." In
your search, you will find 13 references, all under the
Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic
Health (HITECH) Act, or Title XIII. Each one affects your
HIPAA Security Rule compliance program in light of the
new laws. The problem? No one knows what that means,
exactly—at least not at this moment.
FCC Approves Five Telehealth Networks Development
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/17/09
The Federal Communications Commission approved $35.6
million to fund the development of five telehealth
networks that will link rural hospitals in nine states.
The Rural Health Care Pilot Program is allocating the
money to five organizations: the Health Information
Exchange of Montana, Palmetto State Providers Network,
Iowa Health System, Heartland Unified Broadband Network,
and Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. In addition, the
program approved $10.4 million to help the Alaska Native
Tribal Health Consortium design its network that will
connect rural health care practitioners to urban centers
in the state and throughout the lower 48 states.
Many Hospitals Still Falling Short in Reaching
Patient Safety Goals
HealthLeaders, 4/16/09
While more hospitals are making progress in incorporating
measures to prevent medical errors, they still have a
long way to go to better ensure patient safety using
tested methods, according to a new report released by The
Leapfrog Group. The report, based on 2008 survey results
received from 1,282 acute care hospitals nationwide, does
show that "hospitals are making great strides and
great efforts" to address patient safety concerns.
Hospital CIOs: EHR Carrot Too Small, Stick Too
Big
HealthLeaders, 4/16/09
A new survey of hospital CIOs finds that the federal
government's $36 billion "carrot" of financial
reimbursements to install electronic health records won't
be nearly as powerful an incentive as the "stick"
of reduced Medicare reimbursements if they don't. The
survey of 100 hospital CIOs was conducted in March and
released in a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Health
Research Institute entitled, "Rock and a Hard Place:
An Analysis of the $36 Billion Impact From Health IT
Stimulus Funding."
CMS to Scrap Phase II of Physician EHR Pilot
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/16/09
The CMS has announced it will scrap the second phase of a
physician electronic health record subsidy pilot program
it launched with fanfare in 2007, citing as a reason the
recent passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009. According to its April 7 announcement, the
CMS said the rollback aims to “align its
implementation of the demonstration program to support
the Recovery Act objectives” and “conduct the
demonstration in a manner that avoids paying for similar
EHR functions twice.”
FTC Seeks Input on Security Breach Notification
Rule
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/16/09
The Federal Trade Commission, in compliance with the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, issued a
formal notice seeking public comment on a proposed rule
requiring vendors of personal health record systems and
related entities to provide notice to consumers in the
event of a security breach. Comments on the 50-page
proposed rule can be submitted online and must be in by
June 1.
DeParle: Health Care Reform Moving Steadily
Forward
HealthLeaders, 4/16/09
On the calendar, Congress is still officially in the
middle of its two-week spring recess, but behind the
scenes on Capitol Hill, work on health care reform has
been quietly continuing, according to Nancy Ann DeParle,
director of the White House's newly created Office of
Health Reform. DeParle, who has been in her new position
for just a month, has been spending 60% to 75% of her
time there talking with congressional members and staff
who appear far more receptive to a reform package than
they did more than 15 years ago.
Blumenthal to Take Over ONC on Monday
Healthcare IT News, 4/16/09
David Blumenthal, MD, the newly-appointed National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will
assume the role Monday, April 20. Blumenthal
will be responsible for $2 billion in discretionary
spending under ONC for grants to be supplied under the
economic recovery package.
ACEP: Health Reform for EDs, Too
HealthLeaders, 4/15/09
Feeling neglected and marginalized in the debate over
health care reform, nearly 400 emergency physicians from
across the nation will head to Washington, D.C., next
week to make a case for improving patient access to
emergency medical care and pushing Congress and the White
House for a greater role in how health care is
restructured.
HIMSS09 Recap: Stimulus, Interoperability, and
More
HealthLeaders, 4/14/09
Attendance was "off" at the HIMSS09 conference
held this past week in Chicago, but the hospital,
physician, and health plan executives who were in
attendance were the "more serious buyers" and
the "decision makers," according to the chief
information officers and vendors at the event.
Research Grants Include I.T. Projects
Health Data Management, 4/14/09
The National Institutes of Health will make available
nearly $200 million in grants for large-scale biomedical,
public health, and health care delivery research. The
grants are part of the new NIH Research and Research
Infrastructure Grand Opportunities program.
Privacy Rules Hamper Adoption of Electronic
Medical Records, Study Says
Computerworld, 4/14/09
In a study that is unlikely to find favor among privacy
advocates, researchers from two academic institutions
warned that increased efforts to protect the privacy of
health data will hamper the adoption of electronic
medical records systems. The study, conducted by
researchers at MIT and the University of Virginia, said
EMR adoption is often slowest in states with strong
regulations for safeguarding the privacy of medical
records.
The Stimulus Bill: Planning and Perspective
Hospitals & Health Networks, 4/14/09
Want to apply for stimulus funds? Start preparing now.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is law. By now,
most health care leaders are aware that $19 billion of
federal funds is being directed to advance the adoption
and effective use of interoperable electronic health
records. As health care leaders head up the learning
curve and endure a period of hype, anxiety, hope,
salivation and confusion, they should individually and
collectively be thoughtful about the following
implications of the bill.
Former Deputy Looks Back on Underfunded ONC
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/14/09
Robert Wah is no Jay Gatsby; he’s not trying to re-create
the past, but he knows what it’s like not having the
money to make your dreams come true. Wah, a physician
informaticist, served as first deputy to David Brailer
when Brailer was named in 2004 to head the newly created
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology. Wah made a presentation on connecting huge
private- and public-sector databases of health care
information during the HIMSS conference in Chicago.
Chamber Aims to Work with Obama
Politico, 4/14/09
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found a surprising
number of places to agree with President Obama’s
agenda and is negotiating the specifics in daily meetings
with the Treasury Department, the West Wing, and Capitol
Hill. The Chamber, which calls itself “the voice of
business,” is adapting to Democratic control of the
House, Senate, and White House by finding areas of
agreement on health care reform and financial services
regulation, then fighting to prevent additions that could
hurt the group’s members. While the Chamber agrees I.T.
is important for health care, they will debate about
reimbursement rates.
CMS Names 14 Communities for Hospital
Readmissions Project
HealthLeaders, 4/13/09
CMS today announced the 14 communities around the nation
that have been picked for its three-year pilot project to
eliminate unnecessary hospital readmissions that cost
Medicare billions of dollars annually in preventable care.
The Care Transitions Project sites will operate in:
Providence, RI; Upper Capitol Region, NY; Western
Pennsylvania; Southwestern New Jersey; Metro Atlanta East,
GA; Miami; Tuscaloosa, AL; Evansville, IN; Greater
Lansing Area, MI; Omaha, NE; Baton Rouge; North West
Denver, CO; Harlingen, TX; and Whatcom County, WA. The
Care Transitions Project will continue in all 14
communities through summer 2011.
VA, DOD to Build 'Virtual' EHR
Health Data Management, 4/13/09
President Obama has announced the Departments of Defense
and Veterans Affairs will create a joint "virtual"
electronic health record to enable access to patient data
held in the departments' disparate information systems.
Department officials have been discussing how to improve
the flow of information between DOD's AHLTA system and VA's
VistA system. The President's announcement makes official
the decision to move forward.
Dennis R. Horrigan: Electronic Medical Records
Will Benefit Everyone
The Buffalo News, 4/13/09
An electronically connected health care system promises
better access, improved reliability, and lower costs. A
portion of President Obama’s stimulus plan is aimed
at having an electronic health record in every exam room.
This investment in health information technology has the
great potential to improve the functioning of our health
care system.
Connectedness, Communities, Capital: Putting
HITECH in Context
iHealthbeat, 4/13/09
Billboards and banners inside the grand hall of McCormick
Place set the tone for the vendor floor at the annual
meeting of HIMSS, version 2009 in Chicago: "The time
is now," one read. Another said: "Is your
strategy shovel ready?" Urgency was the undertone,
from poster to corporate brochure.
Calls for Reform and HIT Investment Coincide with
Slump
KHI News Service, 4/13/09
Even as hospitals are grappling with the economic crunch
and having trouble accessing capital markets,
they’re being asked by federal officials to invest
heavily in health information technology and also brace
for major health policy reforms. Health reform is
promised this year by the Obama administration but what
it will look like no one yet knows for sure.
Connecting the Dots of Medicine and Data
The New York Times, 4/11/09
Russ Cucina, 37, lives a double life. For two months of
the year, he practices internal medicine, treating
patients at the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. The
rest of the year, he helps the hospital develop its
electronic medical records and other data systems. As a
medical doctor who also has a master’s degree in
biomedical informatics, Dr. Cucina has a foot in both
worlds—medicine and technology—and can bridge
the sometimes daunting gap between them.
U.S. Medical Industry a Long Way from Being
Paperless
The Detroit News, 4/11/09
Getting medical charts to doctors hasn't always been an
easy task for Henry Ford Medical System. Twenty years ago,
Henry Ford used a fleet of trucks to cart paper files
between medical campuses—an increasingly cumbersome
chore as patient numbers grew. The hospital now stores
about 5 million patient records electronically in a
sprawling database accessible by more than 1,000 doctors.
Brother, Can You Fund an EHR?
HealthLeaders, 4/9/09
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates
billions for electronic health records. So much for the
cost excuse, right? Think again. The $787 billion
stimulus plan signed into law in February by President
Obama includes in its $147 billion health care allotment
a well-publicized $19 billion to support health care
information technology adoption by providers. The
American Hospital Association, the American Medical
Association, and a number of health care advocacy groups
and observers believe the windfall will help remove what
has been the largest roadblock for the adoption of
electronic health records: cost.
Electronic Records Save
Cash
Times Union, 4/18/09
Mr. Wow puts information at the fingertips of doctors and
nurses and can potentially stop errors before they
happen—but itcosts millions of dollars. Mr. Wow is
the pet name for the new computer terminals being rolled
out at St. Peter's Hospital. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam,
visited the hospital to see the system and tout the $19
billion in federal stimulus money allocated for
electronic medical records.
Vermont Senator
Proposes Health Care ‘Smart Cards’
Mass High Tech, 4/17/09
Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin, D-Windham,
presented a new health care billing plan that would allow
Vermont to use smart cards and expand the way the state
uses electronic medical records.
Bill Moving to Develop Electronic Medical Records
Fort Mill Times, 4/17/09
A bill that would modernize how Alaska health care
providers keep medical records is speeding through the
Legislature to capture federal stimulus money. The bill,
approved unanimously Wednesday in the Senate, moved out
of the House Finance Committee on Friday on its way to a
floor vote before adjournment Sunday. The bill would
start the process of replacing paper records on
prescription information, laboratory results, and other
medical records with an electronic health information
exchange system.
New York Readies $60 Million for I.T.
Health Data Management, 4/14/09
The State of New York is offering $60 million in grant
funding for projects that promote the use of information
technology to support the medical home model. The grants
are the third round of funding under the state's
Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New
Yorkers, enacted in 2004. Health I.T. grants awarded in
2006 and 2008 totaled $159 million. Among other uses, the
grants have been a significant source of funding for
health information exchanges and regional health
information organizations in New York. Grant applications
are due June 15.
Georgia Launches
On-line Health Guide in Eight Counties
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/14/09
The Georgia Human Resources Department's Public Health
Division launched an on-line health and wellness resource.
Working in collaboration with Somerset, N.J.-based
Longitude Health, the department will offer health
assessments, screenings, and information and risk factors
on chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes,
and obesity with a focus on improving cardiovascular
health.
State to Help
Doctors e-File Prescriptions
Jackson Sun, 4/14/09
Reducing fraud, mistakes, and unhealthy prescription drug
interactions are at least three reasons the state is
helping health care providers send prescriptions
electronically. The Tennessee Office of e-Health
Initiatives awarded $14.6 million in grants—funded
by the Tennessee General Assembly—to 1,830 Tennessee
physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician's
assistants to help them purchase the hardware.
State Privacy Laws May Undercut Electronic Medical
Records
Ars Technia, 4/14/09
The U.S. government has now adopted a policy of fostering
the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR). The
policy is intended to increase the efficiency of the U.S.
health care system, thereby lowering costs and reducing
the incidence of preventable errors. At the same time,
through its The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules, the government
has set minimum standards for the security of those
records.
Maryland Awarded Nearly $1 million for EHRs
Baltimore Business Journals, 4/13/09
Maryland health clinics will receive up to $951,000 this
year in federal funds to pay for electronic health
records. The technology will be used at eight health
centers in Maryland. Funding for the project was part of
a $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act signed by
President Obama last month. The legislation funds the
operations of the federal government through Sept. 30.
Minnesota Health Care Companies Poised to Benefit From
Economic Stimulus Plan
The Open Press, 4/13/09
Minnesota has long been a leader in the world of heath
care. From the Mayo Clinic to the University of Minnesota's
medical school to Medtronic, innovative technologies,
philosophies, and minds have been a hallmark of the land
of ten thousand lakes for decades. So while much of the
country remains up in arms about wall street bailouts and
golden parachutes, Minnesotans should revel in the fact
that the less often mentioned portions of President Obama's
stimulus package, the money allocated for health care,
will be creating jobs in their neighborhoods and
continuing a statewide tradition of excellent health care
for its residents.
ICD-10 Regulation
Compliance Requires ‘Team Effort’
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/16/09
Successful compliance with the new ICD-10 regulations
will require a team effort among payers, hospitals, and
the federal government, health I.T. experts said during
an ICD-10 summit sponsored by the American Health
Information Management Association in Washington, D.C.
Last month, the Obama administration announced that it
would sustain the Bush administration's Jan. 1, 2012
deadline for using the 5010 standards for electronic
transactions and the Oct. 1, 2013 target date for use of
the ICD-10 series of clinical codes.
Federal Panel
Hears Advice, Concerns about Comparative Effectiveness
Research Efforts
HealthLeaders, 4/15/09
The new 15-member Federal Coordinating Council for
Comparative Effectiveness Research, authorized under ARRA
to assist federal agencies in coordinating and comparing
the effectiveness of health services research, heard
suggestions from the public April 14 in Washington on
where to focus its efforts. The goal of comparative
effectiveness research is to provide information on the
relative strengths and weakness of various medical
interventions.
Providers,
Vendors to Congregate for ICD-10 Summit
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/15/09
An estimated 225 people representing providers, payers,
and health care information technology vendors—all
with a coming ICD-10 problem—are expected to
converge on Washington to work on solutions.
Few Hospitals
Meet Leapfrog CPOE Standard: Survey
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 4/15/09
Hospitals that participate in the Leapfrog Group annual
survey are not meeting quality and safety standards, and
most still have not implemented technologies or best
practices for reducing errors. Only 7% of the voluntarily
participating 1,276 hospitals fully meet Leapfrog’s
computerized physician order-entry standard while 65% of
hospitals do not have all the recommended policies in
place for preventing hospital-acquired infections.
Rehospitalization
Rate Provides Glimpse into Bigger Concerns
HealthLeaders, 4/14/09
A study recently published in The New England Journal of
Medicine shows that 20% of Medicare patients are
readmitted to the hospital from which they were recently
discharged within a month. That percentage jumps to 34
when looking at a three month time period. The data,
representing Medicare claims collected between 2003 and
2004, show that more and more discharge is becoming a
time at which it is crucial to have a good communication
plan in place among caregivers and patients. What's more,
the presence of a strong continuum of care can lead to
lower rehospitalization rates.
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